As we said we met up with Lenny and his new label manager a few weeks ago and as the IMS starts tomorrow and he’s involved with that here’s the first part: (He’s also doing a set at Blu on Friday night which we’ll podcast (and maybe another podcast which will be special – but it’s out of our hands)

The early morning sound of Europe’s No. 1 party island – and nothing to do with after-hours parties…

It may appear that there’s not been much going on recently on the Ibiza music scene, as most of
those involved in the island’s nightlife patiently waited for the annual explosion of activity that is the
season’s opening at the end of last month. However, there are some musicians living and working on
the islands to whom the six month season is complete anathema.

One such is Lennart Krarup, known by millions around the world as ‘Lenny Ibizarre’, whose 14 years of DJing, producing and remixing have earned him such accolades as ‘Lord of Ibiza Ambient music’ whilst his music now appears on over four million records. Notably his first album ‘The Ambient Collection’ in 1979, which received rave reviews and his ‘Chilled Ibiza’ compilation series with Warner UK which went multi-platinum, selling well over a million copies. You might say he’s one of the finer examples of Ibiza’s musical legacy over the last decade.

So what has this 35 year old hyperactive hippy been up to this winter?

Having firmly established himself as one of the leading lights on the Ibiza Ambient and Chillout scene, Lenny is also starting to make his mark as an outstanding DJ and is now focusing on international gigs.

His DJing style should not be filed under ‘chill-out’, more recent work often has an overtly dance feel, even tending towards eclectic progressive house and techno at times. A case in point is his new dance track ‘Night of the Shackle Shaker’, which was snapped up by Clubstar for their new ‘In Bed with Space 08′ compilation.

As a producer he continues to remix high profile artists. With The Doors, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley and Desmond Dekker already amongst his growing list of prestigious clients, we understand that the latest rumour is that he’s moved on to Ray Charles… having just finished a downtempo Jazz Remix of Radiohead’s Creep.

His music is being licensed all over the place, including the new Cafe del Mar release, the Pikes compilation and a fascinating new EMI compilation featuring Massive Attack and Pink Floyd with tracks by the likes of Floyd, Massive Attack and Blur. The album cover features an early 70’s photo of Floyd at what looks like the Croissant Show in Ibiza.

Lenny is also hosting his own radio show every weekend throughout the summer on Sonica (95.2 FM). This will not be a chill-out show but will include all sorts of unusual material as he features selected exclusive sets from some of the finest DJs from around the globe.

You might, for example, notice sound-bites from Grand Theft Auto, the latest buzz amongst musicians struggling to find an outlet for their more unusual talents. Anyone who has sampled the delights of GTA will realize that this is the latest hip cult to which the kids are flocking – because it’s everything music used to be – it’s dangerous.

Lenny and new Label Manger Philipp

Ibizarre Records, founded in 1997, has been fairly low profile for the past few years but decided last year to take the next step and expand. With new additions to the team, notably the arrival of Philipp as label manager, they have increased their focus on signing new artists. Several of these are Brazilian singer songwriters produced by top South American producers.

As a result the label is now growing at a phenomenal pace. However, this is not a capitalist record company but a label run by, and for, artists. Despite their true Ibiza roots the record company offer
major label production quality with four studios around the island, artwork from one of the finest designers in the world and, as a result of Lenny’s previous success they are financially sound with a list of acclaimed international artists amongst their clients.

Nonetheless, they insist upon concentrating their efforts on supporting other local artists and businesses – generally anything to do with Ibiza. For this reason they would love to hear from any new artists of all musical styles, who are invited to submit demos of their work to the address on their website, www.ibizarre.com. (CD’s please as downloads often take too long and consequently get forgotten!).

The record company will be releasing two singles and four albums this summer and these are not simply internet downloads – these are ‘physical releases, like CDs and vinyl.

The first single will be a jazz version of Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ with Eliza Lumley, whose album ‘She Talks in
Maths’ went straight to No.1 on the iTunes jazz chart, the second is ‘Jogo Bom’ by Viva Varjao performed by Lua. The name means ‘the beautiful game’ in Portugese and the tune is classic chill-out.

The four albums include a double CD of chill-out lounge and dance featuring the best of a decade of
Ibizarre, ‘Mantis’ written and produced by Igor and Dan, aka ‘Pig & Dan’, doing classic Balearic Chill-out, rather than techno, a DJ Awards based double CD mix (more info to follow next month) and Sunset People written and produced by Steen Thottrup of Cafe del Mar fame and featuring the vocals of our own local hero, Katy McGregor.

Lenny, co founder of the DJ Awards at the 2007 awards pre-party

As if all of that wasn’t enough Encripted records, an underground label Philipp and Lenny have just created
has, as its first release in the first week of June, an EP called ‘Santa Katamina’ by Monoxcide in deference
to the Southern Brazilian town of ‘Santa Catalina’, which is the home of the renowned ‘Warung’ night
club in a Balinese beach hut – rated as one of the top five clubs in the world.

Last, but not least, is their the new booking agency run by Philipp with 8 full time and 6 part time jocks at the moment. They’re obviously doing well to keep so many in employment, but when you see their names and the list of venues they’re servicing it all becomes clear:

Artists include Valentin Huedo (resident at Cafe del Mar since 18, and who many feel could be the new Lenny), Nima Gorji, Orli&Martie, who just hit the Beatport Progressive Charts at number 5 with ‘White Flower’, Rico Loop who just did a spontaneous live jam at Savannah that completely blocked the Sunset Strip, and Deep Dive Corporation.

Venues: Pacha, Space, Privilege, Underground, Aura, Blue Marlin, Pikes and Cafe del Mar, Savannah and Mambos pre-parties on possibly the most relevant strip for both sunsets and the music scene in the Balearics. For the latter two, Christian has now taken over from his Dad, Javier (the Mambo king), and is doing a fabulous job. Reputedly they do the finest ‘solomillo’ on the island, but you’ll have to pay them a visit to find out their secret…

All in all it would appear that Lenny is doing his bit to enhance the island’s musical reputation. He might,
in fact, accurately be described as a musical philanthropist…